Friday, December 28, 2007

Indio

This is a bit of a departure from previous entries but I wanted to share this story because it speaks to the power of music, not to mention movies, and the internet.

So I'm spending time with my mom seeing movies in New York that I would never have an opportunity to see otherwise. As I flip through reviews, Into the Wild catches my eye. The movie is based on the best-selling book by Jon Krakauer and was directed by Sean Penn. I won't recap the story, but if you're not familiar with it, do check out the movie website, or, better yet read the book. (Into the Wild has appeared on many critic's Top 10 lists of movies for 2007 and, for what it's worth, I really liked it as well.)

Curious, I look up the movie online, to view the trailer. As the site is loading, music from the soundtrack begins to play. Turns out Eddie Vedder (of Pearl Jam fame) wrote most of the soundtrack except for the song Hard Sun which turns out to be a cover from a band named Indio.

Indio released only one CD in 1989 titled Big Harvest. They did a short tour, and then, for the most part, fell off the map. It turns out the CD was revered by many. Big Harvest is out of print and sold used on eBay with prices starting between $60 and $90. On Amazon it ranges from $114 to $229. To read just how much Big Harvest continues to be loved by people today, click here and here.

From that CD, Hard Sun is just a great song period, never mind that Eddie Vedder's cover (iTunes) is quite good also. It's just one of those songs that you have an immediate reaction to and there's something about the lyrics, the music, that strikes you right away. When the chorus hits, it like an anthem that reaches into your psyche. Oh yeah, Joni Mitchell sings the backing vocals as well -- turns out her husband was the bass player in the band. I can't speak for the rest of the CD as I just got it myself, but as you read from the posts in the link above, Indio's Big Harvest clearly touched a lot of people.

Was Indio a one hit wonder with Hard Sun? For me, I can't say, as the CD is new to me as well. Whatever you do, right now, go download the entire out of print CD here, judge for yourself, and enjoy the music.

Indio's Hard Sun - Music You Need to Hear

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Indio is cool stuff! Keep writing and finding cool music. you should think about posting some songs periodically, too. Might get more people trafficking on your site, which would get more people viewing your cool writings. Just my two cents.

Anonymous said...

God bless you for posting this link! I used to own this but have no idea what happened to it. I started searching the web and was dismayed to find it out of print and out of site for costs. Thanks a million!

Anonymous said...

The CD has been reissued by Pacemaker Entertainment www.pacemaker.cd